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JAMBOS BLAZING

Maybe the sole surprising aspect of Hearts' victory over Celtic in the Scottish top flight was the extent to which surprised people seemed when news of the outcome and its impact for the summit of the standings emerged. While this 3-1 win at their home ground, which leaves the Edinburgh side leading of the league and eight points clear of their rivals, was earth-shattering in scale, no one who has been following the progress of either team this campaign will have been in the least shocked by the result.

Over the last four decades, the dominance of two Glasgow clubs of the Old Firm have divided the Scottish football between them, turning the beautiful game to something of a punchline in the meantime. Several matches into the present season it has become apparent that Heart of Midlothian – who count celebrated snooker player, Olympic champion and Ken Stott among their famous supporters – might just be ready to strike while the Old Firm iron is freezing cold.

CELTIC'S DECLINE

Although much of the attention in Scotland has been on the disastrous season being suffered by Rangers, the full-spectrum nightmare of the circumstances at their stadium has resulted in that the title holders' comparatively less severe decline has been allowed to fester below the radar. The defending title winners have so far lost a considerable number from nine league games this season under Brendan Rodgers. The Celtic manager has developed the distant look of a man who can't stop checking his schedule to find out how many time are remaining until his contract expires, and woke up this morning to learn the number is over two hundred.

"I've never worked harder in all my time here," he informed reporters following the loss, after they had questioned his appetite for anything resembling a championship battle. "Therefore the drive is there to try and flip the levels that we're at. It's absolutely fine, there is plenty of time."

EDINBURGH DISRUPTOR

Considering the horrific start to the season being experienced by Rangers, Rodgers and his men could normally be anticipated to escape scrutiny for their own inability to start strongly, but on this occasion an capital city challenger has joined the mix. In spite of being obliged to function with a war-chest that is not just a tiny fraction of their rivals' as a comparative budgetary baw-hair, Hearts have added the money and knowledge of Tony Bloom to the SPL mix. In addition to investing ten million pounds during the off-season, the Premier League figurehead has provided Hearts exclusive use of his top secret data-driven Jamestown Analytics player identification system.

In an Irish defender, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Brazilian prospect it has enabled them to unearth unpolished gems from Walsall, the Slovakian top flight and the Norwegian second tier, among other exotic footballing outposts, for the combined cost of a modest car. Seen at their home venue on matchday sporting a Hearts scarf, the notoriously astute professional gambler could be seen cheering each goal with the enthusiasm of a person who had almost certainly realized the bookies had massively misjudged his side's prospects of beating the out-of-sorts champions, and placed large bets accordingly.

COACH'S REACTION

"I don't think it's a statement win," said the facial-haired team manager Derek McInnes after his team's most recent success, their eighth win in nine league matches. "Perhaps it is for those on the periphery. It might change perceptions. It may confirm opinions that there's a tightrope. But we must be realistic, we're really pleased with what the players have given us. Technically, we look in a good place, and certainly in fitness we look in a excellent shape, so long may that continue. Of course, it's not a position that the team is accustomed to being in." Correct, the manager, it is not. But the wonderful, data-driven truth is that for the first time in ages, Scottish football might genuinely have a title race that a team besides the traditional powers can win.